Immunohistochemical characterization of knee joint cartilage in patients with late anterior cruciate ligament injury

• Grant number: 24/09126-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2024
• End date: September 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Marilia Cerqueira Leite Seelaender
• Grantee: André Murillo de Castro Siqueira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina (FM). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Lubricin (also known as proteoglycan 4, or PRG4 and expressed by the PRG4 gene) is a proteoglycan found in the cartilage, synovial membrane and synovial fluid of the knee joint capsule and it is responsible for protection against wear and growth inhibition associated with adhesion in this articulation.Its presence is associated with the inhibition of the pathophysiological process osteoarthrosis (OA) development, a chronic degenerative joint disease related to inflammation and injuries such as rupture of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), an intracapsular ligament of the knee joint.This work is part of the project entitled Effect of preoperative exercise on the prevention of osteoarthritis in the knee joint complex in patients with late anterior cruciate ligament injury, carried out by the Experimental Surgery Research Laboratory (LIM 26) and the Laboratory for the Study of Movements of the Institute of Orthopedics and Traumatology (IOT), both associated with the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (HCFMUSP), and it aims to standardize the method of preparing cartilaginous tissue samples collected from patients with chronic ACL injuries that underwent surgical reconstruction via arthroscopy for identification and immunohistochemical quantification of lubricin.